Monday, February 26, 2007

my neighbors are bastards. they put up a password on their wireless account AND somebody keeps parking in our spots, leaving us to the streets. which royally sucks when there are snow banks where our cars should be. now i have to resort to internet at cafes, which isn't too bad now that i have a car. though i can't download music and movies at my leisure anymore. at least i got the new modest mouse in time.

i have an extreme sugar high. after not eating, i found that i'm a bottomless pit again, and my rate of sugar consumption has skyrocketed. i already had split a scone and cranberry bread for breakfast and i'm eating a giant cookie as i type. and i might throw up any second from eating so much. i know these things are very important for you to know.

i lived through my first snowstorm of the year. seems i'd been dodging them, leaving new york and all, but winter finally caught up with me. it wasn't too bad, but the mall was completely dead on sunday and the day was really boring.

we did venture out on saturday night to go to the opening of the shamrock in st. paul. good ol' college fun... a classic rock cover band playing bar staples, wall to wall people, drunken girls stumbling out of the toilet stalls thinking everyone is either their new best friend of their worst enemy. oh man, that took me right back to my college days and going out with kate. she never failed to make the night interesting.

on the way back we decided to go to mickey's diner. i'd never heard of it, but apparently it's an important st. paul landmark, as seen in the classic film "the mighty ducks." hence, the quacking. small, cozy, and greasy. perfection.

in the parental update department, my mom ended up throwing up on the plane ride to austin. though i'm glad it didn't happen to me and it sucks that it happened, you have to admit it makes for a funny story. she ended up feeling a lot better (sooner than i did even) and enjoyed the visit with amber.

still waiting for my hamline application to be 100% complete. i shot an email to mr. burns asking when i could expect his letter of recommendation to be sent, because that's all i need. he responded by saying he sent one the week i asked for it. which means hamline never got it. i hope he gets it sent again soon, because i'm getting kind of anxious to see what's going to happen with everything.

my mind is completely melting. i think it's time to check out of bob's java hut.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

it all started sunday after my parent's arrival. we started the visit off right with dinner at loring pasta bar in dinkytown. it was perfect- the food, the atmosphere, the live tango music and dancers. after that i took my car home, where alisun was unloading the last of her stuff. i decided to go out with her and some of her work friends, so we took my car over to the red dragon. after (probably midnight-ish) we went to grumpy's to do/watch karaoke. bear in mind that i was the driver, so i had only one drink. that was when the monster headache set in. you know the kind of headache where you just want to cry and curl up and not talk to anyone? that's what it was. i was feeling strangely drained and emotional.

because i was driving a bunch of people home, i ended up at their mercy in regards to when we were leaving. so i sat quietly in the booth, afraid that if i spoke i would burst into tears. i didn't get out until between 2-2:30 (which i was really unhappy about, considering i also had to get up to meet my parents in the morning). finally heading to bed between 3:30 and 4, i woke up at 9 not feeling any better. i felt like i had been out drinking all night, which wasn't the case. i met my parents at their hotel and we headed over to the mall of america. we did some shopping, ate at koko island (a tourist trap) did some more shopping, and headed back to the hotel. and by "ate at koko island" i mean they ate, i couldn't really stomach my salad.

the original plan was to rest up at the hotel and then eat dinner at the french meadow, but i wasn't feeling up to it and wanted to go on a night when i would really enjoy it. so when we got to the hotel, we just laid around and ordered snakes on a plane to watch. then we went to the restaurant downstairs for dinner.

it only took one bite of my veggie wrap for my stomach to speak loud and clear "stop! i can't handle you right now!" so i put it down and quietly waited for my parents to finish their meals. i drove myself home, with that same drained and emotional feeling, thinking a good night's sleep was all i needed to get back into the swing of things. my body had other plans, and i woke up at 2:30 running for the bathroom. a crappy night's sleep, indeed.

at 9 am i called my parents and told them they were best off finding their own way here, i wouldn't be able to drive to the hotel. they got a taxi and stopped at walgreens on the way to pick up some imodium, and in the process were warned by many people that people were dying from the flu. thanks for the positive thoughts, people.

the imodium definitely helped the main problem, but i still had a fever, chills, and body/muscle aches. good ol' gastroenteritis. my parents took it upon themselves to go to kowalski's to get some grocery shopping done for me, seeing how i have absolutely no food. when they got back they sat around my apartment, reading and doing their laundry. i slept on and off.

they ended up going to the french meadow by themselves for dinner, which made me a little happier, and they enjoyed it very much. by the end of the day i was feeling better, and i ended up getting a good night's sleep (finally!)

i slept in this morning, and just got word from my parents, who are at the airport waiting to get on their flight to fly to austin to visit amber. turns out my mom woke up this morning at 5 am after having a dream that she was lying on the floor in her office with a stomachache. turns out it wasn't just a dream, and poor ol' dad had to get a taxi, go to the nearest pharmacy, and get her some imodium. lucky for her they got the medicine early enough, so she's feeling better for the flight, though she still doesn't feel great. she made the good point though that i had a tougher time because i was more drained to begin with and it took me a while before i got any medicine.

so all in all, a lousy trip. i was so excited to have these days off to see my parents. i couldn't wait to see the city with them (i still haven't seen much of it), and instead we hung around like a couple of bums. of course my mom also brought up the point that it was kind of like divine intervention, because if i had gotten sick any other time i would have been stuck in the apartment with nothing but water (and alisun wasn't here all day). so it kind of worked out that my parents were here to take care of me.

so i don't know what it is with me getting sick when people visit, but celeste, i'll dry my damn hardest to not get tonsillitis again when you visit.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

11:42 pm. heading to bed. suddenly realize that i am out of shape and in serious need of starting my marathon training. boy that's hard when it's the freezing winter and i can't afford a gym membership. and all i eat is peanut butter. will i train in time? stay tuned for the shocking conclusion.

in reality, i just realized it's been a WHILE since i ran and i think i could only get about three miles in without huffing and puffing. and i was doing so well.

oh, the thoughts that cloud your mind when you're not out drinking on a saturday night...

Friday, February 16, 2007

thanks arthur for nagging me into an update. not much has changed from when i first got here. i still feel very new to the city mainly because i don't have a car and feel like a hostage in my apartment when i'm not working. alisun still hasn't moved in yet, but she and chris are on their way now to bring some stuff and some beer (bless their hearts, i really need one). she's got most of her things here, but it's quite the process moving out of her aunt's house between cleaning and organizing (and i'm not sure organizing in a timely fashion is exactly her strong suit). we also have a table and a couch. boy were they ordeals to get into the apartment. thanks to everyone who volunteered their resources and minivans for that. i also have a nice dresser i acquired from the salvation army. i lucked out on this one because it's quite nice. my room is definitely looking more roomy now because of it.

works getting better, i'm getting more comfortable with my role as manager and increasing sales. and by "more comfortable" i mean i actually know what my sales goals are, which is a big help.

my parents, weather-permitting, are due to arrive in the twin cities on sunday. they'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning, so wish them luck on their travels. my mom's having back pain right now, too. i'm sure a twenty hour car ride is EXACTLY the remedy.

no huge plans for when they come. i have sunday-tuesday off. we'll hit up the moa i'm sure at least once, dine at the french meadow because i'm in love, and perhaps check out famous daves and other tourist attractions. i'm certain they'll want to see the mary tyler moore statue, too (which i saw for the first time last week when i went downtown for the first time).

speaking of downtown, i went there to go to borders to use up my $50 gift card. i only got to order a soy latte before salsa scooped me up in her car for bloody marys. so i still have $48 left, which i intend on using soon. i think i heard/saw the manager who scolded me via phone there, too. i could recognize that voice anywhere. pure evil.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

i'll say it again. i love that my living room is barren. i love that if you open the refrigerator you'll only find hummus, soy milk, oj, jarred middle eastern mixed veggies, pita bread, and leftover soup. i love that half of my clothes are hung in the closet, because i could only afford that many hangers. and that the rest of my clothes are nicely folded on the floor next to the closet. i love that my only piece of furniture currently is my aerobed, which gets quite uncomfortable after a while, resulting in me leaning against the radiator covering myself with a borrowed quilt.

i'm honestly not complaining. no matter how little i have, it feels good to be in my own place.

yesterday i boldly downloaded the devil wears prada and the latest office for my viewing pleasure. the devil wears prada should never be mentioned again, aside from the killer clothes worn in said movie. salsa picked me up in the afternoon and we went to the p.b.loco headquarters so i could fill out employment forms and salsa could do a quick training for something. the funny part is they're very secretive about what goes on in their headquarters, so only the founders and people working at the headquarters (c'mon that's just a fun word to say) are allowed in the room. i had to sit in the room next door. mind you this is a factory building, so there was little to no heat and i kept my jacket on while filling out my w-4's and such.

after that we thrifted around a bit, hoping to score an awesome $3 dresser. it was getting late so only one goodwill was open. as a compromise i got an awesome $3 hanging shelf/coat rack. with some good paint it will look great hanging in my room, serving as a shelf/necklace holder.

made a quick stop at target apres goodwill where i got a few basics i couldn't get at the co-op: 98 cent wine glasses (we had to get them because we got a bottle of wine to split back at the apartment. speaking of which, i have a newfound love for yellow tail shiraz/cabernet blend. god bless you and your seven dollar ways. i also got a shower curtain liner, which made for a very successful splash-free shower this morning. and three sets of eight hangers. and they were lime green, my favorite home decor color.

famished, we headed over to holy land deli and split the vegetarian sampler. i also picked up some pita bread and mixed veggies to satiate aforementioned fridge. for a $9 meal, we were very content (and it's vegan-friendly). we even brought home some leftovers that we devoured after the wine.

the plan for the night was to watch volver, which i attempted to download, but that never happened because it's still downloading as we speak. it's ok, almodovar, i will wait until you are ready.

the cold i caught at the beginning of the week seems to be declaring war on my body. i surprised myself by sleeping until nearly nine am, even though i went to bed at eleven the night before.

in about an hour i am looking at an apartment with salsa. because nyc teaching fellows didn't work out for her, she thinks she might just stick around here and wants her own place. after that we're going to her brother's for his superbowl party. that might be funny to hang out with a bunch of brawny married 30-somethings. i'm wearing a dress and we're bringing wine for the celebration. i am sure we will fit right in.

Friday, February 02, 2007

according to my post counter, this is my 120th blog. how am i celebrating?

by sitting in my brand-spankin'-new apartment!

i moved (correction, alisun moved) myself into the apartment today. al probably won't be moving herself in for a while because she's got a lot on her plate with work and figuring out how to move everything here. it was a bit easier in my case because i have only two suitcases and the rest will be in transit in a few weeks.

i will put pictures up as soon as i can, but it will probably be a while because1) i need a new memory card for my cameraand2) i left my cable cord home in ny and i refuse to buy a new one here.

the apartment is sparse, to say the least, but it feels fantastic to be in my own place. plus i'm no longer at the mercy of having someone drive me around, which was the case at al's aunt's house. at the moment i am on an aerobed borrowed from chris' parents, blogging away with my free wireless (god bless whichever neighbor got that hooked up because i'm getting a strong signal.)

i also got to stop at the wedge (the co-op) to pick up just a few basics for fuel. al and i are going vegan this month, which is i've found to be surprisingly easy, aside from the moment of stupidity we experienced yesterday walking into a gas station thinking we'd be able to get a snack there. not so much. also, thank god french meadow makes incredible vegan food. it's only been two days, though. we'll see how i feel about it a week from now.

perhaps the most exciting news is that i got an awesome job. i am now the manager of p.b.loco cafe. in the mall of america. how hilarious is that? salsa works for the company in st. paul and put in a good word for me. i went today to meet keri, one of the owners, and the job was mine. i'm really excited about this because i think it will be a great company to work for (read: not crazy corporate). how can you go wrong with a job where they give you a sandwich to eat during the interview? and it was GOOD. curry peanut butter, pickles, and potato chips. anyway it's still a rather new company that's trying to get its name out there. they've gotten awfully close. they were going to be featured on oprah's favorite things but they discontinued the favorite things altogether. so for me this means that i'll be able to be involved with them because it's a small company and they want as much creative input as possible which means i'll get to do promotions and recipes up the wazoo.

so i start monday. which meant i had to call borders to let them know that i wouldn't be coming in. that was AWKWARD and i ended up feeling like a scolded child. i talked to the store manager and after apologizing profusely and telling her why i wouldn't be coming on board, she gave me a long pause and said slowly "oookayyy..." as if that wasn't uncomfortable enough, she took it to the "we weighed a lot of decisions based on this. i just had to voice that." i said that was fair, said i was sorry again, and then thanked her. after i hung up though, i thought maybe that wasn't so fair of her to say. i'm glad i won't be working for her. seriously, borders is a freakin' corporation and they can't get mad if a better opportunity presents itself for somebody. especially since this job was just a regular cafe position. most people in my shoes would have taken this manager job, but not everybody would have called to say they were sorry they wouldn't be able to work for people they haven't even met yet. that's what i get for being a good citizen. if it was somebody else, borders might have just had a no show come monday. now THAT would have been a problem.

i should probably head to bed now. i really need to catch up on sleep, i haven't been getting an exorbitant amount lately. but it has been fun, going to see shows and such. and it's such a great community to be in because all of the musicians know each other and they aren't pretentious and don't give off the vibe that they're doing it just to show off.